The presenter, who recently broke up with her husband, was found sobbing by bosses on the ITV1 daytime talk show, who drafted in This Morning co-host Ruth Langsford as a last-minute replacement.

McLean revealed earlier this week that her second marriage, to builder Steve Toms, had broken down at Christmas.

A source told the Daily Mirror newspaper: ‘Andrea has had a bit of a week of it and it all caught up with her today. She had a panic attack half an hour before the programme started and couldnât stop crying.

‘It was clear she wouldnât be able to take part and so she went home.

Itâs been a horrible time for her but sheâll be fine. We fully expect her to be back on the programme next week.’

The 42-year-old TV presenter â who is a mother to children Finlay, 10, and five-year-old Amy â admitted to being ‘a bit broken’ when she poured her heart out on This Morning earlier this week.

Andrea â who explained she had chosen to go public ahead of the publication of her autobiography, Confessions of a Good Girl – said: ‘Iâm a bit broken to be honest. I didnât want this to be how my life turned out.

‘Iâm just going to keep going. Iâm really blessed, Iâve got two lovely children and an amazing family who have all rallied round and have been supportive. I think itâs a one day at a time thing.

‘A lot of people have questioned why I opened up about the fact that my marriage has ended, but the answer is simple. The book is dedicated to him and my family.

‘When you write a book like this, the pre-publicity is organised six months in advance and I couldnât just sit and lie and pretend everythingâs great â because it didnât end up like that.

‘So I just took a deep breath and thought, “Be honest, just get it out there and deal with it.”‘